The University of Maryland, in conjunction with industry experts and additional university partners, is offering a comprehensive certificate program in the latest bioprocessing technologies and techniques.

Each workshop features classroom instruction from leading faculty and hands-on experience using state-of-the-art equipment in the University of Maryland's Bioprocess Scale-Up Facility. Attendees can choose from tracks in Cell Culture or Fermentation, followed by a Downstream Processing workshop.

These workshops are intended for biotechnology professionals, faculty, research scientists and students who wish to increase their knowledge, understanding of, and proficiency with bioprocessing technologies and techniques. Prior knowledge in molecular biology, cellular biology, chemistry or biochemistry is recommended.

June 5-6

Cell Culture Technologies

$1,295

The University of Maryland, College Park, together with industry experts, is pleased to offer a two-day workshop on cell culture technology. The session features hands-on instruction with various cell culture expression systems and introduces attendees to the techniques, methodologies, principles, and applications of anchorage dependent and suspension adapted cell lines. The workshop provides an opportunity for participants not only to learn the principles of cell culture scale-up at the bench, but also covers recent advances and up-to-date applications of this methodology including single-use systems.

The laboratory sessions take place in the University of Maryland Bioprocess Scale-up Facility (BSF) on the College Park campus. The BSF houses bioprocessing equipment for process development and optimization ranging from 1 L to 250 L. All workshop participants will track their own anchorage-dependent and suspension-adapted cell lines over a two day period. Attendees will also prepare, inoculate, and harvest a cell culture bioreactor. The format is fast-paced, but plenty of time has been allocated for discussion with workshop faculty.

The workshop laboratory sessions take place in a newly renovated learning facility located within the University of Maryland Bioprocess Scale-up Facility (BSF) on the College Park campus. The BSF houses bioprocessing equipment for process development and optimization ranging from 1 L to 280 L. All workshop participants will examine and test bench and pilot scale cell culture equipment. Practical applications will cover adherent, semi-adherent, and suspension cell lines. The format is fast-paced, but plenty of time has been allocated for discussion with workshop faculty.

The University of Maryland, College Park, in cooperation with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, is offering a two-day fermentation microbiology workshop on state-of-the-art fermentation processes and practices.

The workshop provides hands-on experience and instruction with various fermentation systems and acquaints attendees with the techniques, methodologies, principles and applications of aerobic bacterial and fungal fermentation.

The workshop provides an opportunity for participants not only to learn the principles of bacterial and fungal fermentation scale-up at the bench, but recent advances and up-to-date applications of this methodology.

assembly and disassembly of bench top fermentors (2-5 liter) from several different vendors

sterilization procedures

preparation of inocula and inoculation

process sampling

measurement of optical density and glucose levels

process control

harvesting techniques

Workshop Laboratory Sessions

The workshop laboratory sessions take place in a newly renovated learning facility located within the University of Maryland Bioprocess Scale-up Facility (BSF) on the College Park campus. The BSF houses bioprocessing equipment for process development and optimization ranging from 1 L to 280 L. All workshop participants will examine and test large-scale fermentation equipment while they perform their own experiments on bench-top units provided by several vendors. The format is fast-paced, but plenty of time has been allocated for discussion with workshop faculty.

Case Studies

In response to requests from past attendees, a series of case studies are being added to the curriculum so that participants may gain a greater understanding of how the principles of fermentation are applied in practice. Please see the complete workshop schedule for more details.

The University of Maryland, College Park, together with industry experts is pleased to offer a three-day workshop on downstream processing techniques. The workshop will provide hands-on laboratory exercises and classroom instruction on recovery and purification strategies for biotechnology products, especially proteins. Participants will integrate theory with practice in areas such as cell separation, cell disruption, chromatography theory and systems, sample preparation, columns and packing, adsorptive chromatography, and elution optimization.

The laboratory sessions take place in the University of Maryland Bioprocess Scale-up Facility (BSF) on the College Park campus. The BSF houses bioprocessing equipment for process development and optimization ranging from 1 L to 250 L. Cell separation and protein purification equipment by several vendors will provide hands-on learning opportunity to participants.

The workshop will provide laboratory sessions in a newly renovated learning facility located within the University of Maryland Bioprocess Scale-up Facility (BSF) on the College Park campus. The BSF houses bioprocessing equipment for process development and optimization ranging from 1 L to 250 L. Cell separation and protein purification equipment by several vendors will provide hands-on learning opportunity to participants.

Some of the lectures will take place in the laboratory, allowing participants to follow along on equipment while the discussion evolves.

This industry-driven and application-focused laboratory workshop offers an avenue for training the next generation of biopharmaceutical analytical scientists. Laboratory experience utilizing NIST reference materials will provide an unparalleled simulation of industry-relevant characterization technologies. This is a robust training workshop with an integrated, targeted focus on product quality.

This workshop is based on the NISTmAb RM 8671, humanized IgG1k reference material. The analytical module will highlight the importance of separation science in ensuring therapeutic protein quality. A rigorous series of laboratory exercises will be conducted on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis instrumentation.

Lab courses will include analysis of the NISTmAb using size exclusion chromatography and imaged capillary electrophoresis to evaluate size heterogeneity of therapeutic protein as well as capillary isoelectric focusing to evaluate charge heterogeneity. In addition to exposure and hands on experience with state-of-the-art equipment, a series of lectures will be given to provide the requisite theory and industrial applicability of the methods. Lectures from faculty at UMD, NIST, and the UMD School of Pharmacy will collaborate on these lectures to provide a well-rounded analytical training and experience package.

Registration Information

International Students

If you are an international student interested in registering for this event, please email biotech@umd.edu for instructions on how to register.

The workshop laboratory sections will be held in the University of Maryland's Bioprocess Scale-up Facility (BSF) and the lecture sections will be held in the Chemical and Nuclear Engineering building.

Directions to the BSF can be found HERE and will also be sent with your confirmation letter.

There are numerous hotels in the area, a full list if available HERE. The Best Western Plus offers the most convenience for those without access to a car, as you can easily walk to campus from its location.

Contact Information

E-mail Ben Woodard, or call 301.405.3909, if you have a question, comment, or would like to receive more information about the workshops.